It was an open question for about two hours Saturday night. But late in the third period, 3100 fans at Bright Hockey Center finally knew for sure that Harvard was headed for the ECAC final four next weekend at the Garden.

With just over four minutes showing on the clock, Crimson winger Jim Turner found linemate Scott Fusco free in the high slot in front of RPI goalie Gerry Fink. Fusco fumbled for a moment to get set to shoot, then passed off to his brother Mark, unguarded at the right point.

Now, when you give any defenseman a clear shot from the point, that's chancy. And when that blueliner has a slapshot like Mark Fusco's, it's even riskier. But when the Engineer defense let Fusco walk in several steps from the point to let go with full force, it was a matter of split-seconds before the net bulged behind Fink, the Harvard crowd roared and everyone realized the Crimson had clinched its quarterfinal playoff series.

The two consecutive wins over the East's highest scoring team in the regular season sent Harvard on to a Friday night matchup with New Hampshire, which outlasted a tough B.U. team in its quarterfinal series. The two squads finished the campaign with identical 15-5-1 records, though the Crimson will be the "home" team this Friday, thanks to its 7-5 victory when the Wildcats visited Bright in December.

But for a while on Saturday it seemed RPI might keep Harvard from making its second straight appearance in the ECAC semis. The Engineers had dropped a 5-1 decision at Bright the previous evening; with their season on the line, they didn't give up easily. On Friday the Crimson cruised to victory, but on Saturday it couldn't grab the lead until just past the game's midway point.

Throughout the opening stanza the Crimson attack couldn't get in gear, as the Engineers played a successful game of dump-the-puck-and-chase-it hockey.

RPI finally scored when center Adam Oates held the puck on a two-on-one, went around Grant Blair as the freshman goalie came out to cut down the angle, tucked the puck away.

But after the first intermission Harvard got the break it needed, when the line of Brian Busconi, Dave Burke and Rob Wheeler--previously inconspicuous on the scoring sheets--first tied the game and then put the Crimson ahead.

First Round Results

Friday, March 4

Harvard 5, RPI 1

Providence 2, Yale 1

UNH 3, BU 3

St. Lawrence 5, Clarkson 3

Saturday, March 5

Harvard 4, RPI 2

Providence 2, Yale 1

Clarkson 2, St. Lawrence 1

Tiebreaker--St. Lawrence 3, Clarkson 0

UNH 6, BU 3

Semi-final Pairings

UNH (3) vs. Harvard (2)

St. Lawrence (4) vs. Providence (1)

First, Busconi headmanned the puck to Wheeler, giving the ex-tennis star and Burke a two-on-one. Wheeler's shot went wide, but he collided with Fink, leaving an open net for Burke when he grabbed the rebound off the back boards.

And seven minutes later, Wheeler again carried the puck on a two-on-one, this time with Busconi, dishing it off to the right wing to set up Harvard's second goal.

Another Crimson two-on-one--Greg Chalmers and Brad Kwong this time--led to a 3-1 lead in the third period. The Engineers responded with a power-play tally three minutes later, but just two minutes after that Mark Fusco's slapshot settled the issue.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard's win not only earned it a berth in the ECAC final four, but also virtually sewed up a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals the following weekend...Blair, who made great glove saves on RPI's Mike Dark and Frank Ferrara to keep the Engineers' margin at one, lowered his goals-against mark for the season to 2.60...Harvard raised its overall record to 19-8-1...UNH will be making its fourth appearance in the ECAC semis in the last seven years. At Bright Center RPI  1  0  1  --  2 Harvard  0  2  2  --  4

R, Adam Oates (Mike Dark, George Servinis) 9:05; H, Dave Burke (Rob Wheeler, Mark Fusco) 4:20; H, Brian Busconi (Wheeler, Burke) 11:24; H, Greg Chalmers (Greg Britz, Brad Kwong) 10:51; R, Tim Friday (Oates) 13:51; H, M. Fusco (Scott Fusco, Jim Turner) 15:50.

Saves: R, Gerry Fink, 6-6-12--24; H, Grant Blair, 11-8-7--26.

Att.: 3100

Hockey Tickets

Tickets for the ECAC semifinals and finals are already on sale at the Boston Garden. But if you want to sit in the student sections, the place to be is the Harvard Hall ticket office tomorrow at 2 p.m., armed with IDs and coupon books. Remember, there's a limit of two tickets per purchaser.